Liberal Members of Parliament give Minister of Finance Bill Morneau a standing ovation as he delivers the federal budget in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Wednesday March 22, 2017.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Liberal MPs are hunkering down for a weekend caucus meeting, where they will get ideas — or perhaps marching orders — on how they can sell the new budget to Canadians.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau opens the meeting this afternoon before heading down the road to lend high-profile support to Mona Fortier, Liberal candidate in the coming byelection in Ottawa-Vanier.
The budget, which was big on plans and small on spending, will be a main topic of discussion behind closed doors at the two-day caucus meeting.
MPs will talk about ways to help voters understand commitments to invest in skills training, social housing and child care, as well as plans to charge sales tax on ride-sharing services like Uber.
A move to change the rules of Parliament is also expected to come up, as the Liberals face an ongoing and heated battle with their political rivals over the issue.
The Liberals argue their suggestions for change — including setting one day aside for Trudeau to answer questions — are meant to modernize the House of Commons, but the Conservatives are describing it as a power grab.
Globe political columnist gives his take on the new Liberal budget, describing it as a plan mired in debt that will hinder the Trudeau government's agenda.